“Well-behaved women rarely make history” was the title of a column that ran in The Patriot Ledger in 2008. And although many adjectives have been used to describe her, that column’s author has rarely been referred to as well-behaved.

She has, however, made some history of her own – winning legal precedents that slowly but steadily work toward leveling what she sees as a seriously skewed playing field for crime victims – especially women and children.

All too slowly, if you ask her.

In the five years since her book “And Justice for Some” was first published, Wendy Murphy has taken her sometimes brash, always provocative advocacy for victims to the highest courts and to the court of public opinion in numerous briefs, regular TV appearances, columns in The Patriot Ledger and other media, and classes with her students at New England School of Law.

But not enough has changed, she says. And people need to learn how to be their own strong advocates.

That was one of the reasons she decided to revise and reissue the publication, subtitled “an expose of the lawyers and judges who let dangerous criminals go free.”

Jon Benet was a 6-year-old child beauty pageant queen who was murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado, in 1996. No one has been charged in the murder.

“The case is an important symbol of what happens when children are killed, in terms of distortion of truth that happens in pop culture.

“In January 2013, we learned for first time that the parents were indicted in 1999. Why was that held secret for so long?”

Murphy point to flaws in the law as it relates to parents in such cases, and to questionable tactics by their attorneys to stifle questions and commentary.

The book details numerous other examples of not only how and why the law and the legal system is broken, but the reasons behind the break, and “what can we do in the real world in the nature of plain old democracy and people power to hold the system accountable.”

This sort of behind-the-curtain look at the legal process is what Murphy said she hopes will catalyze a political and social movement.

Her examples range from debunking DNA myths and manipulation of and by the media, to spot-lighting what she calls questionable practices throughout every stage the criminal justice system.

Empowering people to turn their outrage into focused action is at the heart of Murphy’s message. “It’s important to understand why so many victims especially women and children are treated unfairly,” she says. “And it is so wrong to be polite in the face of grotesque injustice.

Page 2 of 2 - “People have asked me what they can do? “We have to start generating the wind. Nobody has really effectively demonstrated how the public can bring its authority to bear on the judicial branch ... If they (elected and appointed officials) think the response by decent people is there ...there will be change.”

And Justice for Some, by Wendy Murphy, $16.95 is published in paperback by Wild Birch.